


Damian

by smolalienbee



Series: Elijah Kamski's demons [15]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Canon Related, Canon Universe, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluffy Ending, Good Dog Sumo (Detroit: Become Human), Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Jericho (Detroit: Become Human), Light Angst, M/M, Making Up, Mental Health Issues, Post-Canon, Talking, anyone missed Connor and Elijah being soft?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 17:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16727379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolalienbee/pseuds/smolalienbee
Summary: Elijah Kamski pays another visit to new Jericho. Will he be able to fix his past mistakes?(continuation to the New Jericho storyline)





	Damian

**Author's Note:**

> This is like, the longest chapter that I've ever written, phew. We're back onto the main action - what happens after that argument Elijah and Connor had in The Conversation. This is probably the last part in the New Jericho/Damian-related storyline and we'll move onto some other matters in the next chapters.  
> Also, time for a shameless plug - since I have literally zero chill, I've started writing a new fic! It's called Flesh and Wires and it's a reversed AU/sort of alternative version of DBH with human!Connor and android!Hank (and Elijah will also have a bigger role in it - admittedly that fic started because I wanted to write something where Elijah isn't as soft as he is in this series). So far only the first chapter is up, but I'd really appreciate it if you guys could check it out as well (I'm actually really excited about writing it). And in case anyone was worried, it doesn't mean Elijah Kamski's demons is over - I've got plenty of chapters written ahead of time so this series will be updated as usual. I just needed to write something entirely else as well.  
> Alright, that's all from me for now! Hope you enjoy!

This was such a horrible idea.

Yet there he was. Standing in front of Jericho. Again.

Deja vu?

This time he was alone.

The sun was shining, warm, summer weather.

It didn't match Elijah's feelings.

Anxiety. Fear

Determination.

Connor's voice was still ringing in his ears.

“ _You need to take matters into your own hands!”_

That android was going to be the death of him.

After Connor left that day, Elijah had plenty of time to think. He couldn't sleep, tormented. He didn't handle arguments well. It scared him, the irrational thought that he'd lose Connor over this. He couldn't allow it to happen, not after how he opened himself up to the android.

He didn't want to show up at Jericho again, but what other choice did he have?  
Maybe it was about time for him to grow up and fix what he broke. On his own.

It certainly sounded like a better idea than running back to Connor and begging him for help.

He could do this.

He had dealt with worse things than this, didn't he?

He had to do this.

He inhaled deeply and stepped forward.

Just like during his first visit at Jericho, he had a feeling the whole building fell silent as soon as he walked in. If they were wary of him before, now it must've been even worse. Long weeks after the whole incident, they trusted him less, he was sure of it.

Putting the mask on was not as easy as it was with Connor by his side.

He didn't know if he wanted to keep up the appearances. After all, he was there to gain their trust. To apologize. To put together what he made fall to pieces. Pretending to be someone he wasn't probably wouldn't make him seem any more trustworthy.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and proceeded forward.

He hoped he wouldn't walk into any of the Chloes. He couldn't see them right now. He had no idea if they knew about what happened between him and Connor; a large part of him hoped they didn't. They shouldn't be dragged into his own mess. He was glad they were accepted into Jericho despite their association with him. It didn't surprise him, after all, they were far better at integrating with others than he could ever dream of being.

He felt their gazes, heard their whispers.

It was too much to handle, but he kept on walking.

_Fix this, or he's going to leave._

_Fix this, or they're all going to turn their back on you._

_Fix this, or you'll always be a monster._

Repeating the same thoughts over and over again, he mindlessly walked, not paying attention to what was around him. So caught up in his own mind that he let out a yelp as he suddenly felt a hand on his arm. He turned around, ready to yell, fight, run.

Until he noticed who was grabbing him.

“Elijah? What are you doing here?”

Markus was gripping his arm tightly, as if to make sure he couldn't escape. He was right to do so, Kamski didn't know what he'd do if he wasn't being held in place. He dropped his gaze, his shoulders slumping considerably.

“Elijah?” Markus prompted again when he got no response.

“I want to see Damian,” he finally blurted out, his eyes flicking up to Markus' face.

The android slowly loosened his grip, his brows furrowing as he watched his creator. Elijah made no move to pull his arm out of the grasp. Afraid to really make any move while he was in there. He didn't feel safe there, not even with Markus in front of him.

Or maybe it was the android leader's presence that intimidated him even more.

“Connor's not with you? He didn't tell me you would be coming here.”

“He... doesn't know I'm here,” he admitted, averting his gaze.

That seemed to confuse Markus even more. Carefully, he let go of Elijah's arm completely and let his own hand fall to his side as he looked Kamski all over. Thinking. Elijah stayed silent, giving Markus time to come to his own conclusions. After all, if the android decided it was better not to let Kamski anywhere near Damian, everything would be much easier, wouldn't it?

He shouldn't be thinking that way. He really was a poor example of a god.

“Follow me.”

Elijah nearly jumped out of his skin. He stared up at Markus, as if he didn't understand the simple instruction.

“Follow me,” the android repeated, patiently. “I'll take you to Damian, but first, I want to talk.”

It took Elijah a moment to really let the words sink in. He nodded and it was enough of a cue for Markus to start walking. Kamski followed right after him.

They made their way deeper into the building, but to Elijah's surprise, Markus soon led him outside through one of the back doors.

He was amazed by what he saw.

A garden; a garden that couldn't even be seen from the street. The large building kept it well hidden and Elijah had no idea it was even there. Connor had never mentioned it. Maybe he didn't see it as anything important. And, logically speaking, it really didn't have much signifance. Except that Elijah's feeling contradicted that.

He was astonished, looking at the flowers and the trees growing out there. He wondered who came up with the idea to even plant any of them there. Who took care of it? Did they all do it or only some of them? They certainly did a good job of it – the flowers blooming, colorful, beautiful. All sorts of them, blues, yellows, reds, pinks, most of them Elijah wouldn't even be able to name. There were androids designed specifically for gardening – was it their work? Did they have a longing to do what they were created for? Or maybe they just provided others with the necessary knowledge to take care of the garden?

It was just a piece of land and yet it was what made Elijah realize just how little he truly knew about Jericho and the androids' lives.

How was he supposed to help them if he truly knew none of them?

Connor was so painfully right.

“It was Simon's idea.”

Elijah looked up from one of the flowers. White, smooth petals, a sort of hearty shape. He couldn't tell what kind it was. He approached them without even realizing it, too deep in thought to control his own feet. It was Markus' voice that brought him out of the stupor, as if he could read his mind and knew of the questions running through his mind.

“He thought it'd be good to... liven the space up,” the android continued, now standing at Elijah's side. “Surprisingly, North has taken a liking to caring for the flowers. She says it helps calm her down.”

Kamski didn't respond at first. He ran a hand over the blossoms. Their texture felt pleasant against his fingertips.

“These are the Begonias.”

“I'm pretty sure I didn't program you with the knowledge of plants.”

Markus huffed a small laugh at his words.

“No, you didn't. But I learned from Simon. It's been a long time since my creation, I've had the time to learn far more than my programming originally allowed.”

“...well, your programming allowed you far more freedom than the programming of the more... common models.”

“I know. I know you didn't mean for us to be just machines.”

Elijah furrowed his brows, slowly lowering his hand from the flower. He looked over at Markus, his gaze focused and curious. Despite being the one to create Markus with his own two hands, he never had many chances to truly talk to him. He should've done a better job of getting to know this android.

“How would you know that?”

“As I said before, Carl mentioned you sometimes. And Connor, he talks about you a lot,” Markus explained, meeting Elijah's eyes.

“All good things, I hope?”

“Mostly, yeah.”

Elijah opened his mouth, but then closed it, taken aback by the response. He had meant the question as a joke and didn't expect Markus to genuinely say yes to it.

His stomach twisted with guilt.

He swallowed thickly, a moment of silence passing as he didn't know what to say. He wanted to change the topic, but what could they possibly talk about?

A thought popped into his mind.

“I... visited Carl,” he said, quiet.

He hesitated, before taking a step back. He didn't wait for Markus' reaction before he moved further into the garden, a narrow path between the flowers, a path created out of grass that had been stepped over enough times to turn into dirt.

“I know.”

Why did it seem like Markus knew everything?

Elijah glanced over his shoulder, just to see that the android was following after him in slow, calm strides. A contrast to Kamski's nervous, fidgety movements.

Without even trying, he had a more godly vibe to himself than Elijah ever had.

Kamski didn't have to ask anything, his expression gave the question away immediately.

“I visit him often. I saw the birds there. There's only one person that could've made them.”

“They were there? They... flew away, I didn't think they'd come back.”

“I'm sure they know they're supposed to watch over Carl.”

“...yes, they're doing a better job of it than I ever did,” Elijah muttered, more to himself than Markus. He was sure the android heard his words, but was thankful when he chose to ignore them.

“I'm glad you finally went to see him,” he said instead.

“I should've done it a long time ago.”

“You should've done a lot of things differently, but you can't change what's in the past.”

Elijah sighed. Markus was right. He couldn't change the past, he could only try and not repeat his mistakes in the present.

Which he felt like he was doing a pretty poor job of.

“Why do you want to see Damian? Why now?”

As they reached the end of the path, Markus finally brough the topic up. The reason why Elijah was back, in Jericho.

He turned so that he could face the android properly.

“To... put it shortly, Connor made me realize that I... I need to do this. That it's... the only way to fix things after what happened the last time I was here.”

“To put it shortly, you two got into a fight,” Markus corrected, crossing his arms on top of his chest.

Elijah let out an exasperated sigh. At this point, he wasn't even surprised that the android just somehow knew the truth of the situation.

“How is it that you just seem to know everything?”

“It just so happens that a lot of people talk about you,” Markus responded. “But really, Connor had been off recently and when he refused to tell me what's the matter, it was either he got into a fight with you or the lieutenant. The fact that you're here alone makes it obvious which one it is.”

Elijah let out a quiet chuckle in response, shaking his head.

“I'm disappointed in myself. I should not be that easy to figure out.”

“It's because of Connor's influence on you. Which, frankly, I think is a good thing.”

His expression softened and he looked away, unsure what to say to that. So he wasn't the only one who noticed how much of an impact the RK800 had on him. Even Markus, who didn't even see him that often, could easily tell.

Connor really had him wrapped around his finger, didn't he?

“I can take you to Damian,” Markus spoke up again. “But I'll stay with the two of you. Damian is... far more stable than he was the previous time you were here, I've talked to him quite a lot about what happened. But he still won't be happy to see you. You need to be careful when talking to him or you'll scare him, again.”

Elijah nodded. He knew better than anyone that he needed to be careful. Needed to keep his emotions and insticts in check. He wasn't sure what would happen, really. They could frighten each other, once more, and then it'd be a mess. Like how it was before.

But he hoped, he truly hoped, that he could handle it better now.

He needed to do this right, he was desperate not to fuck it up even more.

For all the androids. For Connor.

For himself.

“Come on. I'll take you to Damian.”

 

* * *

 

They found Damian in one of the more secluded areas of Jericho.

A large room with a high ceiling, placed in the back of the building. There were some androids roaming around, doing their own things, a soft murmur of conversations in the air.

Damian was sitting in the back of the room, alone, carving into a small piece of wood with a pocket knife.

As they approached, Elijah stayed behing Markus, trying to make himself as invisible as possible.

He was not ready for this, at all.

“Damian.”

Markus' voice was what made the android look up. A soft look of surprise on his face at the sight of the android leader, but then his gaze moved, his expression hardened when he realized who was behind him. Elijah could see that he gripped the knife tighter. He didn't say anything, looked between Markus and Kamski, waiting for an explanation.

“Elijah wanted to see you,” the android calmly explained, taking a step to the side to fully reveal the man behind him.

Elijah didn't like being put in the spotlight like that. It was just the two pairs of eyes on him, there were in the back of the room and no one else was paying attention to them. But it was still too much.

He could see Damian's LED flashing red.

“Why?”

It was a simple question, though Elijah was surprised by the lack of spite in the android's voice. It was more dismissive, than anything else, especially when paired up with how Damian looked away from him and went back to his previous task.

Completely different from what happened when they first met.

Kamski looked over at Markus, hoping for some sort of help. But the android remained silent and just raised an eyebrow. Elijah quickly understood it was a cue for him to explain himself. He sighed and hesitantly approached the table, sitting down in a chair across from Damian. He didn't think his legs could really hold him up at the moment.

A moment of silence. It dragged on and on, it felt like ages, in Elijah's mind. He had to say something, but what? And how? Damian was so eerily calm, he wasn't prepared for it. He was prepared for screaming, for anger, for anything, but this. It threw him off. Left him speechless.

It really had been a while since what happened, hadn't it?

“I'm sorry,” he breathed the words out.

Damian stilled. He stared at the knife and the wood for a moment before his eyes slowly moved up. His LED spun yellow as he stared at his creator. Looking jus as shocked as Elijah initially was by his calm approach.

It was Kamski who lowered his gaze now. He was silent, expecting Damian to say something, but when he didn't, when those eyes stared at him, vigilant, he decided he should carry on.

“I'm sorry for what I did,” he repeated, slowly. Weighing the words on his tongue. He was never good at apologies. Avoided them, like fire. “And I- don't just mean what happened, with you. I mean... everything. I've done a lot of wrong and I've came to realize my mistakes. What you said? You were right. I did abandon you. But... I never wanted any of you to get hurt. You may not believe me, but that's the truth. I... have been a coward for a large part of my life and I should've stepped in earlier, to prevent all of the abuse. You were never supposed to be just machines, you were always much, much more than that. I... can't change what's in the past already, but I can do my best to make the future better for you and your kind and it's what I'm trying to do. It's why I'm here now and why I've been working with Markus. I want to fix my mistakes, but to do it, I... need your trust.”

Once he was finished, he let out a small breath. He wasn't sure at what point did he just start rambling, getting out all of his thoughts, all of the words that he should be saying not just to Damian, but to all of his creations.

The apology, the explanation, his true emotions, not just calculated syllables spoken by a masked character. They all deserved to hear it.

But he had to take it one step at a time. Maybe eventually he'd be able to speak to all of them.

Damian was silent for a moment, thinking over what he just heard. His LED returned to blue somewhere halfway Elijah's speech and it was a relieving sign, a sign there was no danger anymore. That they had both came to realize their mistakes and were able to handle the situation with clearer heads.

“I can't and I don't trust you,” he finally spoke up, his words blunt.

Hearing those words hurt Elijah in a strange way, a way he couldn't really grasp or explain. He didn't say anything. His eyes flicked up to meet Damian's.

“But I do trust Markus,” he continued, his eyes flickering up to where the leader was roaming nearby. Listening in and watching over them, but not butting in.

“And if Markus thinks you can be trusted, then I believe he's making a right call. I- overreacted, before.”

Elijah couldn't believe how relieved he was to hear those words. It was the best he could get out of this conversation. Even if the trust wasn't being put in him directly, it still meant that the android was willing to give him a chance. It was a much, much better reaction than what he expected when he showed up at Jericho that day.

“Thank you,” he muttered, running a hand down his face. He sunk in the chair, the tension in his body became less. “I- I won't abandon you again. And I'll prove that you can trust me, as much as you can trust Markus.”

“That could take a long time,” Damian pointed out.

He didn't look at Elijah anymore, eyes focused on a piece of wood in his hands. Kamski moved his gaze there as well, though he couldn't make out what it was that the android was trying to carve.

“I realize that,” he responded. “I wasted a lot of time before. I have to make up for it, now.”

“Well- I sure hope you will, creator.”

It twisted Elijah's stomach in all the wrong ways, hearing anyone call him that. It reminded him of the person he was supposed to be, the person he pretended to be, the lie that constantly surrounded him.

_Elijah Kamski, a god._

He felt sick, hearing it.

“Elijah. Just call me Elijah.”

Damian glanced up at him, his eyes moving all over his face for a moment as if he was debating something. Finally, he nodded.

“Sure. Elijah.”

It was something so small and yet it lifted some more weight off his chest.

 

* * *

 

By the time they left Damian on his own again, Elijah felt lighter.

With the conversation now over, the conflict somehow resolved, he laughed at his past self. Why was he so afraid?

He knew very well why and it made the laughter in his mind die off. It was easy to ridicule his past self now when he had it all behind him.

At least it was one thing less for him to worry about. One demon less. He could breathe, just a little easier.

They were just walking out of the room, Elijah turned his head to glance over his shoulder at Markus and that was when he nearly walked into someone. He jumped, spun around immediately to see who it was.

He stumbled back when he was met with the all too familiar pair of brown eyes.

“Elijah?”

He didn't know how to feel about seeing Connor. Seeing him there and then, when he didn't even have the time to fully process what had just happened with Damian.

It was like the entire world was playing a prank on him.

Connor's brows were furrowed and while he didn't look as angry as he did the last time they saw each other, though he also didn't seem too happy. There was a conflict on his face and Elijah fully understood it. He felt the same way.

“Connor?” It was Markus who spoke up, rather than Elijah. He stepped from behind him. “I didn't think you'd be here today, either.”

“I- Hank told me my... pacing around is driving him insane and told me to take a break. I was hoping maybe I could be of help here,” Connor responded genuinely.

He was avoiding Kamski's gaze, purposefully looking directly at Markus, as if the other man wasn't standing there at all. Elijah frowned, wondering if it was his fault that the android was so restless.

It probably was.

“Well, there's not much happening around here today, expect for, well...” Markus trailed off, but pointedly looked over at Elijah. He could see the leader's gaze, but he tried to make it seem like he didn't notice.  
“I should be going,” he said quickly, before Connor's attention would be brought to him.

He was about to walk away, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

To his surprise, this time it was Connor who was stopping him.

Brows furrowed, but his expression soft. Worried?

Why did he look so concerned?

“What are you doing here?”

Elijah opened his mouth, his eyes locked on Connor's. It was horrible, how just looking into the android's eyes caused him to crumble. A strange pain, a longing, a fear, a need.

It didn't make any sense. It was irrational. A vulnerability.

He looked away.

“...I talked to Damian.”

When he said it, Connor's grip loosened, but his hand remained on his shoulder. The touch felt far more comforting, now.

“You... oh.” The android was speechless.

“I really should-”

“Wait,” Connor's grip tightened yet again, before Elijah even had a chance to finish the sentence. He looked up again. “Since there's nothing for me to do here... we could go and take Sumo on a walk. If you want.”

Connor's voice was so gentle and he almost sounded... hopeful?

As if he wasn't just being polite, as if he genuinely wanted Elijah to join him.

As if he felt the same kind of pain and longing, a strange emotion, an aftermath of their argument.

Elijah knew immediately what his response was going to be.

“...yes. That sounds nice, Connor.”

The android's face brightened up at that. Elijah didn't even realize how much he missed seeing it light up that way.

“Have fun, then,” It was Markus, a small, knowing smile on his face as he looked between the two of them.

Kamski's expression softened, as well.

“Thank you,” he told him, quietly.

Things seemed to be looking up for them. Finally.

 

* * *

 

It was a short ride before they arrived at the Anderson household. Elijah had been there a few times before, but the farthest he got was the doorstep. He had never actually had a chance to see the inside of the house, even though he and Connor had been growing closer for a few months at that point.

As they made their way in, Elijah barely had a few seconds to take in the surroundings before a large mess of fur came barreling in. All of Connor's body, his expression, everything about him seemed to loosen up at the very sight of the dog.

“Hi, Sumo- there, there.” He crouched down to pet the dog and let him lick at his face and hands.

It was a heartwarming sight and in that very moment, Elijah could forget about the tension between them. He was brought back to reality when he felt a wet snout against his leg. Sumo greeted him eagerly, while Elijah stared down at him for a moment. He finally leaned down and, rather awkwardly, ran a hand over the soft fur. He had met Sumo a few times before, but didn't have enough time to really get familiar with the canine.

He heard Connor moving by, but didn't look up.

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to act. The ride to the house was silent, the air filled with the unsaid.

Connor was also quiet when he appraoched the two, leash in his hands. It was only then that Elijah's eyes flicked up and he was surprised by their sudden closeness. Their gazes met and they remained like that for a few seconds, unbelievably close and yet so far away.

Elijah tried to read the emotion off Connor's face, but couldn't get a good enough grasp on it before the android was pulling away.

Kamski straightened up as well, Sumo moving away from him now that Connor had him on the leash.

“Let's go,” the android's voice was soft and he didn't dare to look at him.

They headed outside.

The weather was perfect for a walk. Just the two of them and the dog. If it wasn't for the unusual circumstances, Elijah was sure they would've enjoyed this time off immensely. It was a shame one argument could put such a damper on other aspects of their lives.

Sumo led the way, Connor right behind him, Elijah at his side. The entire way to the park, they didn't utter a single word, deep in their thoughts.

Minutes passed by, agonizingly slow.

As if the time slowed down to give them more time to open up to each other.

“...what did he say?”

Elijah didn't expect to hear Connor's voice. It cut into the silence, the silence that was previously disturbed only by their soft footsteps.

“Damian?” Elijah clarified, having to think for a second, realize what Connor was referring to.

He waited for a nod and then continued.

“He... he took my visit surprisingly well,” he said, earnest. “It went better than I expected. He said that he trusts Markus and as long as Markus will have faith in me, he will, too. It's... honestly more than I could've asked for.”

Elijah swore he saw a look of relief appear on Connor's face. He wasn't prepared for it and that soft gaze almost knocked the air out of his lungs. He averted his gaze, shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans.

This was making him feel a lot like back in his teenage days.

What was this feeling?

How could he possibly tell, he was never good at emotions.

“I'm glad you went to see him,” he heard Connor's gentle voice.

His eyes trailed after Sumo, who was cheerfully trotting in front of them.

He sighed.

“Yes, well... I had a lot of time to think over what you said,” he admitted.

Connor didn't repond immediately. As they reached a large plane of grass, he bent over to let Sumo off the leash. Despite his age and weight, the dog ran off as if he was still a puppy, ears flapping against his head and tongue flying around.

Connor grinned fondly at the sight, looking at Sumo for just a moment before he turned fully to Kamski.

“I... what I said, it was too harsh, I realize that. I know it's not so easy for you.”

“No, Connor,” he instictively reached out to place a hand on his arm. The action startled both of them equally. “You were right. You don't-” he didn't get to finish before the android was grabbing his hand, shaking his head vigorously.

“I should've supported you, rather than- yell at you.”

Elijah stared at him briefly. He twisted their hands so that their fingers were tangled and he could squeeze Connor's tighly, a quiet reassurance.

“Connor.” His tone was stern now. Grounding and bringing the entirety of Connor's attention to him.

“It doesn't matter now, does it? And I'd say it worked out well, in the end. So... don't concern yourself with it so much. Please?”

Connor blinked several times, looking between their hands and Elijah's face. Their fingers still interwined, locked together.

Elijah was now beginning to get anxoius about it. Self concious and suddenly all too aware of the way the android's fabricated skin felt against his, the way their hands fit together.

He was about to pull back when Connor squeezed his hand.

“But-” he began, but then changed his mind. “...so we're... good, then?” There was so much hope in his voice that even if they weren't, Elijah didn't think he'd be able to say no.

“Of course we are, love.”

He had caught the word slipping past his lips when it was already too late. It was something he had only ever used to refer to Chloe. He had never called anyone else that – he had never called Connor that.

The android looked just as surprised, but fortunately for Elijah, he didn't comment on it.

They stayed like that, hand in hand.

Elijah felt lighter, somehow, and he could finally enjoy the moment for what it really was. With no demons holding him back. At least for now.

They'd be back for sure, sooner or later. But right there and then, it was just Connor, Sumo and him.

The sun was shining, a warm, summer afternoon.

Elijah wasn't good at telling apart his emotions, but this time, he knew he felt genuine happiness.

 


End file.
